India runs on one time zone, India Standard Time (IST), which is UTC+5:30 all year. India doesn't use daylight saving time, so the gap with your city changes twice a year if yours does.
Your 9 to 5 in India time
If your hire works your full day, this is when they'll be online in India:
| Your city | Now there | Your 9 am to 5 pm in IST (winter) | In IST (summer time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | – | 10:30 pm to 6:30 am | 9:30 pm to 5:30 am |
| Chicago | – | 8:30 pm to 4:30 am | 7:30 pm to 3:30 am |
| New York and Toronto | – | 7:30 pm to 3:30 am | 6:30 pm to 2:30 am |
| London | – | 2:30 pm to 10:30 pm | 1:30 pm to 9:30 pm |
| Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam | – | 1:30 pm to 9:30 pm | 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm |
| Dubai | – | 10:30 am to 6:30 pm | No change |
| Singapore | – | 6:30 am to 2:30 pm | No change |
| Sydney | – | 4:30 am to 12:30 pm | 3:30 am to 11:30 am |
"Winter" and "summer" mean your city's standard time and daylight saving time. For Sydney, summer time runs roughly October to April.
When the gap changes
- United States and Canada: clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November.
- UK and EU: forward on the last Sunday in March, back on the last Sunday in October.
- Sydney and most of south-east Australia: forward on the first Sunday in October, back on the first Sunday in April.
- India, UAE and Singapore: no daylight saving.
For a few weeks each spring and autumn, the US and Europe change on different dates, so the gap with India shifts twice. Put the dates in a shared calendar so nobody misses a meeting.
Three ways to set up overlap
1. Full shift in your hours
Your hire works your complete business day. This suits client-facing, sales and support roles. It's straightforward for the UK, Europe and the Middle East, where the shift falls in the Indian afternoon and evening. For the Americas, it means a night shift in India, so we check that candidates genuinely want that pattern before you meet them.
2. Partial overlap
Your hire works an Indian day that overlaps your morning or afternoon by three or four hours. Meetings and questions happen in the overlap. Focused work happens outside it.
3. Overnight handoff
You hand work over at the end of your day and it's done by your next morning. This suits finance, content and operations work with clear briefs.
Practical tips
- Agree core hours in writing. When they must be online, and how fast they reply outside that.
- Share a holiday calendar. Agree which Indian and local public holidays they'll take before they start.
- Write things down. Short written briefs beat long calls across time zones.
- Use one daily touchpoint. A 15-minute stand-up in the overlap keeps everyone aligned.
- Show dates in both zones. Most calendar apps can show a second time zone.
Countbird hires work your hours by default. Tell us your city and the pattern you want on the kick-off call.